Despite being one of the largest producers of knowledge in Africa, Ethiopian science lacks in quality.
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When one thinks of science, Ethiopia is the last country that comes to mind. Despite having a large population and some of Africa's oldest universities (not to mention an ancient civilization that did science like astronomy), Ethiopia’s performance in knowledge production is downright mediocre. By Ethiopia, we’re referring to Ethiopian Institutions, not Ethiopians. Many Ethiopians who work in different universities abroad are leading experts in their industry. So, the question is, does Ethiopia not know how to do science?
The Science is there, but it’s bad
Contrary to what you might think, Ethiopia does produce a significant amount of research work. In 2021, Ethiopia was ranked among the top 10 African countries in research output. Currently, there are 17 accredited journals in the country. In 2022, Ethiopia published 7,156 scientific journal articles in the fields of biology, chemistry, mathematics, clinical medicine, biomedical research, engineering and technology, and earth and space sciences. In medicine, specifically, 422 systematic reviews and meta-analyses were published between 2001 and 2021, involving researchers from 33 countries, with strong international cooperation, particularly with the Netherlands, Canada, and Australia.
While consistently delivering on quantity, the same can not be said about the quality of Ethiopia’s research output. A recent report by C&EN claimed that Ethiopia had the highest rate of scientific paper retraction. A paper retraction happens when a published research article is formally withdrawn from the scientific record, usually because significant problems are discovered that undermine its validity, reliability, or ethical compliance. Ethiopia’s retraction rate was placed at 12%, placing it first in the world. However, this research has drawn criticism from experts for its dubious data. Nonetheless, a separate article in Nature also ranks Ethiopia among the countries with the highest number of retracted papers. So while it's difficult to ascertain the rates, we can be certain that paper retraction is a recurring issue in Ethiopian academia.
We can now move on to why this is the case. But you, our reader, have probably been to a public university and are quite aware of the academic standards being practiced there. So, we won’t bore you with stuff you already know. Rather, we would like to point to something that is not a justification, but will somehow help you understand the phenomenon better.
Ethiopia is just following Trends
While “others do it too” is not an excuse, it is a fact. Globally, concerns about declining research quality have grown as retractions and high-profile misconduct cases multiply. Large-scale analyses find that a majority of retractions are now due to misconduct (fraud, falsification, plagiarism) rather than honest error, and that retractions have risen sharply since the late 20th century, a pattern attributed both to more misconduct and to better detection and lower barriers to retract flawed work. A recent and most notable example is that of Francesca Gino, a Behavioral scientist at Harvard. Gino’s paper was retracted after evidence surfaced of there being misconduct in the research. So, if even Harvard isn’t immune from it, what hope does Ethiopia have?
AI Ain’t Gonna Help Either
AI use is still considered taboo in academic circles, but when has that ever stopped anyone? Scholars are increasingly leaning on generative AI not only to draft manuscripts but also to screen and even write peer reviews. Reports and analyses show an uptick in papers and reviews with evidence of AI authorship, and investigations have uncovered GPT-generated or augmented papers that slipped into indexes like Google Scholar, often with tell-tale signs such as fabricated or non-existent references.
Empirical work documents the problem: large-language models frequently produce fabricated bibliographic citations or inaccurate references. Many studies find high rates of “hallucinated” citations.Like with most things, AI is a double-edged reality: it can speed up and improve certain editorial tasks, but widespread, undisclosed reliance, especially when outputs aren’t carefully verified, risks polluting the scholarly record with plausible-sounding but unreliable science.
So, where does that leave us?
Scientific findings are decisive to a country’s innovation, public health, policy preparation, and development. Losing credibility domestically and among the international community is destructive. It will seriously obstruct collaboration and funding opportunities. And yes, while bad science continues to exist globally, Ethiopia just doesn’t produce enough good science to compensate for it.
Advocacy for better infrastructure, rigorous review, and strict accountability is all due. But beyond establishing external frameworks, we must appeal to the researcher as an individual. Research should not be viewed merely as a hurdle to clear for a degree or an accolade, but as a pursuit with the power to generate knowledge that can shape lives and societies. This calls for an appeal to the researcher’s sense of integrity and responsibility, a recognition that their work carries ethical weight and real-world consequences.
